Wind and solar energy

heeleen

I am not sure about Wind farms, they have batteries in them that need to be replaced and then the batteries have to be disposed of somewhere, if one breaks it costs a lot to get fixed, I have heard other various negative things , I haven't really heard a lot of good things about them.
The one thing that really worries me is the number of birds being killed and injured by flying into them.
They sound like a good idea but maybe need some adjustments to make them more , "GREEN"

jtmorri

Wow, wind drought! All I can say about that is the research and due diligence was not completed thoroughly. I mean, who has ever heard of a wind farm being built in the wrong place. Haha.

I see there being other renewables that could also add to the mix of wind and solar. Green hydrogen, biomass, hydropower, tidal and geothermal to name a few. Home battery storage and community batteries will help with meeting energy needs at all times of day and night and upgrading of electricity grids/networks will iron out any issues in the long-term.

So, I see that Australia can meet energy needs of the population based on renewables and without the need for nuclear power plants moving forward. There are always new technologies and innovations in this space that will continue to improve the power supply with spikes and slumps into the future. I can't wait for green hydrogen to be used for cars and make lithium batteries for electric vehicles obsolete. I love the idea of green emerging technologies.

lauraineo

Industry especially can’t depend on wind or sunshine and the repair costs for both is exorbitant,

Juliette31984417

I can not understand the extreme levels of hostility towards green energy, alternative energy sources, new and emerging technologies and research into changing how we use and obtain energy.
I live in a regional part of my state and the hostility and outright ignorance is massive. There is also a lot of conspiracy theories and fake news around alternative and green energies, and also a degree of paranoia and fear. People think alternative energies will some how har them ,their family and livelihoods. I can not understand how this has occurred, is it poor education, is in working in a low value job or not networking with people or not reading much or paying attention to media? Making a generalisation the complainers of are often fairly poor and often elderly, generally male and conservative. Is it about misinformation from fossile fuel companies. If so why is there not more public scrutiny of who are the sock puppets of fossil fuel companies and how and where they are spreading their misinformation. Why is this not being exposed and the companies being made to apologise for their misinformation and the harm they render to community members. And as for the boofheads who are demanding nuclear power, words fail me. and there are a fair amount of them here on this thread. What has happened to the education system? How can people so glibly advocate for sucha dangerous technology/

redgums

Wind farms and solar farms are destroying the beauty of the country ,we be better having nuclear and coal fired power station for our electricity

wendel

We will need a humongous amount of solar and wind farms to make our country fully run by rewnewables. I think it's easier to just encourage everyone to take up solar energy and probably work out cheaper too.

s

I think solar is the way to go with a solar farm in the deserts in Australia.
Wind is not as good I think we are more likely to have sun than wind in Australia.

Ferg

Yep energy Rationing

jjdrer

Are all the wind turbines all switched on. I have been past windfarms that only alternate ones have been turning. In one row of them I have counted them at one windfarm 3 times in 2 days and it's not the ones not working

Bazz

Are all the wind turbines all switched on. I have been past windfarms that only alternate ones have been turning. In one row of them I have counted them at one windfarm 3 times in 2 days and it's...

Wind turbines are switched off whenever wind speed is below 12km/h and are also switched off when wind speeds are above about 47km/h. These figures vary slightly for different models and ages and also with current regulations. They are regularly manually switched off for maintenance. I hope this helps explain why we rarely see them turning. All up, they operate at about 33%, industry average.

funnysag

Not sure of the answer, however the wind turbines are causing many issues & lots of people near them are complaining.

capfantastic

The US President elect thinks Climate Change is a hoax. I don’t believe it’s a hoax. I believe everyone in the world acquiring gas/diesel vehicles is not doable because of pollution. So, how else can we get around without destroying the air we breathe? One thing’s for sure, batteries are bloody scary and will need massive technical upheaval to make them safe on such a large scale of adoption. If we can’t store the power safely, how can we save the planet from destruction? The thing that upsets me is why wasn’t this issue addressed a long time ago before it became a global power crisis?

Bazz

If I designed and built a generator that only runs on average 33% of the time (industry standard for both solar and wind), I'd never had graduated college! Wind droughts are common if you monitor the AEMO live feed on the minute-by-minute energy mix in each city. Nuclear is very expensive - renewables even more so and coal is cheapest by far. Solar is rated for 25 degrees Celsius, so on cold days it generates over-spec (which your charge controller doesn't convert) and on hot days it generates much less than specified. Then there's dust and fog and chemtrails reducing panel output... who bothers to get up on their roof top to polish the panels every morning at 4am? Then there's MPPT technology which actually takes power from your batteries/the grid (which you pay for) to help run the wind and solar system when output is less than ideal. Renewables could meet out energy needs, but not the way it's being done. Nobody in Science - anywhere - is concerned about implementing 'best practice' principles. Forget electrical engineering or even electronic engineering... what we have now is only Financial Engineering - and not in your favour! Further, firefighters have gone on strike and won legally never to attend burning solar or wind farms nor their production facilities. The explosion risk, among many other risks is just too great. Rural Australia, where these facilities are located, is set to become a massive unattended fireball. Batteries are dangerous and very inefficient at storing energy. We currently have much better, cheaper and simpler systems that will never be implemented. Forget energy rationing, which is already happening and has previously happened, the future, if we continue down this stupidly ignorant path, is death!

Bazz

Chemtrails ... ahem ... where is the science in that conspiracy theory?

Google it... it's mainstream!!! Also Bill Gates has used them to block sunlight and lower solar panel output. This is well-documented. Agenda 2030 is not a conspiracy theory. Net-zero 2050 has also been well-documented as has the commentary surrounding it. They used to run tours of the planes used in chem-trails runs. My friend went on one tour decades ago and sent me lots of videos and photos. You can match the patent numbers on the systems shown in the photos against registered patents. Do you know the difference between chemtrails & contrails? Google the answer on that one. Mainstream media has been reporting governments all over the world, the military and other organizations have been using this for many years. It's Science, not "conspiracy theory" and is solidly backed. There's plenty of info available to the serious researcher. D.Y.O.R. Or perhaps just avoid scientific discussion, especially if you're not qualified in the sciences and have no idea what's going on in the world today. I find the comments here actually do have credible backing - either from a research, media or lived experience perspective. The damage comes when someone comes along and rams their perspective down everyone else's throats, starts name-calling and stereotypes those presenting any opposition to your view, as you have done. That is socially unacceptable behavior. It is disrespectful of those who have taken the time to share their perspective in a non-threatening way and added dimension and variety to a discussion that gets little air-time. It seems like you are suggesting that those whose argument is opposed to your view are spreading misinformation and must be stopped. We actually need more information and not less. This and for Human Rights and Freedom of Speech reasons is why the recent Misinformation and Disinformation Bill was killed in Parliament after a very short week to allow Community Opposition in the form of thousands of emails targeting even one senator. It amounted to War time censorship in the words of one prominent scrutineer. Perhaps you will do better to learn from what others have written and question your own understanding of how it can be that the latest generation of small modular nuclear reactors are now considered relatively safe, recycling their own waste and how it can be that the way renewables are being implemented is harmful to animals, humans, all living beings, is being done in total opposition from the electrical and electronic engineering community and isn't providing a reliable base-load power solution?

Juliette31984417

If I designed and built a generator that only runs on average 33% of the time (industry standard for both solar and wind), I'd never had graduated college! Wind droughts are common if you monitor...

Chemtrails ... ahem ... where is the science in that conspiracy theory?

kerynm

Solar I feel is a must but wind farms are a waste of money and land.

l0lapx

I dont see why we dont continue with what nature has given us limitless, coal, gas, water, I live in a coal area with solar which doesnt work if no sun, or coal electricity. Why are not the coal station have extra filtering. YIKES if Canada can extra Co2 out of our atmosphere, surely we can extract harmful, coal station Vapour and bury underground like plans for Co2.
the world is getting more and more stupid on steroids

Juliette31984417

I dont see why we dont continue with what nature has given us limitless, coal, gas, water, I live in a coal area with solar which doesnt work if no sun, or coal electricity. Why are not the coal...

agree that "the world is getting more and more stupid on steroids" but your comment that gas etc is limitless actually proves the argument precisely, where is your research and where is the evidence

Skylark

Nuclear all the way. Time to stop stalling and get building.

Juliette31984417

Nuclear all the way. Time to stop stalling and get building.

so your main concern is big government not the future energy needs of the country?

Bigbear

I don't see it as a clearly viable solution even though the magic of energy for free is alluring and enticing.
The politicians who are championing wind energy as a magic wand solution for energy production are a tad ridiculously impractical group of under informed people, they view this as an experiment at the taxpayer's expense and have not undertaken sufficient research on viability even though much data is now available.

Bigbear

Lots talk and debates about renewables and power and wind/solar meeting our energy needs nowadays.
I use to think of them as an acceptable novelty seeing all the solar panels and wind turbines during my rural leisure roadtrips, but more often than not I now see them as littering the once beautiful countryside, lying dormant for much of the time due to insufficient wind.
I am concerned about the environmental damage, battery storage efficacy and the running cost of turbine maintenance and refurbishment and end of life issues and bushfire risk.

The amount of resources and energy to make all these wind farms would be quite high I would imagine and very costly to construct/deconstruct and maintain.
It may appear as an asset on the balance sheet, but it will prove a poor investment simply due to its nature.

I'm concerned about the waste what happens after end of life use and who pays to clean them up. Without a comprehensive recycling program all the rare earth minerals and toxic waste will just end up in landfill or shipped to another country to deal with like plastics and e waste.

We should be generating energy with our waste not burying it in the ground.
Perhaps high temp coal power can be used to burn the waste, including plastic etc, vaporising gases without dangerous emissions . . . so there's no excuse for dumping rubbish and poisoning the ground water.

I think there should not be any new renewables projects approved that doesn't supply constant 24/7 power.
It is all about balance and using a range of power sources to ensure all bases are covered, coal/gas turbines, wind, solar and hydro, surely a mix of all options would be better to meet future power needs.

Natasa

I believe wind and solar will be too expensive and will not a lot of upkeep and maintenance. Adding to that, it's not reliable. Realistically we should be going nuclear if we're not going to use coal anymore.

MumAils

I believe that a combination of wind and solar would be enough, providing that the government makes the rebates permanent and increases them to give more of an insentive for every household. Increase the tariff return for those that have solar and make sure that the companies can't change what the government puts in place. Recently I got an email from my electricity company saying they are reducing the tariff that our solar panels earn per KWH, to a stupid small amount. I have done the right thing and put solar panels on my roof to help the environment and reduce my bills, but I feel like I'm being punished for doing so when they are giving such a small rebate on what energy my solar panels make for my household. Make the batteries more affordable and reliable if people want to have them and not have to feed their solar earnings back into the grid and get hardly any return.

musicmum

Senator Malcolm Roberts has done a lot of research on this and we cannot currently meet our needs without coal and gas. If you are worried about carbon emissions well China is responsible for one third of the world's carbon emissions. If the Government wanted to encourage roof top solar how about fixing the tariffs and making more of an incentive for people. As a renter I cannot put solar on my roof but I wish there was a way we could use what we pay to electricity companies to pay off a solar roof top with incentives for owners to install them.

intelligent

I would prefer to do more research rather than jump on a Band Wagon on these issues. Let the Eager Beavers go ahead, perhaps we can profit from the outcome later.

YeNaing

For Australia, Wind and Solar will meet our energy need

musicmum

For Australia, Wind and Solar will meet our energy need

Not for many many years. Look at the cost of electricity it keeps going up. We used to have the cheapest world wide.

site77

The debate about whether wind and solar can truly meet our global energy demands is complex, with valid concerns on both side.
In short, many experts believe wind and solar can play a central role in a sustainable energy future. However, addressing the challenges of storage, infrastructure, and grid management is essential to avoid reliability issues. While renewables alone may not meet all energy demands yet, they are key parts of a more resilient, sustainable, and decarbonized energy system when integrated thoughtfully.

ab

The debate about whether wind and solar can truly meet our global energy demands is complex, with valid concerns on both side.
In short, many experts believe wind and solar can play a central...

Yes, whatever the solution, it seems the most reliable will have to be a suite of energy options wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear, working together.
And the debate continues, driven by cost and the time needed to execute.

site77

The debate about whether wind and solar can truly meet our global energy demands is complex, with valid concerns on both side.
In short, many experts believe wind and solar can play a central role in a sustainable energy future. However, addressing the challenges of storage, infrastructure, and grid management is essential to avoid reliability issues. While renewables alone may not meet all energy demands yet, they are key parts of a more resilient, sustainable, and decarbonized energy system when integrated thoughtfully.

John3259

Wind and solar need to be stored for times like overcast days and wind droughts.
Broken Hill's biggest problem was reliance on an external grid. So much for all those BHP ads claiming to operate on renawables.
Spending on an efficient distribution grid, probably locating cables underground will only be part of the solution. Storage for times of plenty and lets forget the stupidity of going nukes or have folk forgotten how long the waste is active.

allycat

No as wind power still need a lot oil and maintance and they also kill a lot birds as they can see the speed they are going and we will never have enough of either to give us all the power we need

baccus

The term "wind drought" indeed highlights a key challenge with renewables—their dependency on weather conditions. While wind and solar contribute meaningfully to a cleaner energy grid, they do require complementary solutions, such as battery storage or diversified energy sources, to ensure reliability. Investing in a balanced mix, possibly including nuclear, could provide the consistency needed to secure our energy future without facing potential shortfalls or rationing.

ab

The term "wind drought" indeed highlights a key challenge with renewables—their dependency on weather conditions. While wind and solar contribute meaningfully to a cleaner energy grid, they do...

100%

bearman

These are only good when the sun and wind are available but as Broken hill found out when a storm knocks out the main electric power line everything shuts down. This is because our system needs a base load to restart it and this does not come from renewables. This is something Labor gov forgot to tell everyone

ab

These are only good when the sun and wind are available but as Broken hill found out when a storm knocks out the main electric power line everything shuts down. This is because our system needs a...

Thank you, bearman.
That's very interesting; beyond my expertise, but definitely something for me to research, to understand. Thanks again.